Plug-in coupling for garden and other hoses

ABSTRACT

A hose coupling with male and female parts; the male part having a double conical bead for being engaged by fingers on the female part; the fingers have notches formed of cooperatingly sloped surfaces which receive the bead; the external surfaces of the fingers are obliquely sloped; a sleeve surrounds the female part; it has a cooperatingly sloped surface engaging the outer surface of the fingers; as the hose coupling parts are pressed together, the male part forces the fingers outward and the cooperating outer surfaces of the fingers and the sleeve surfaces cause the sleeve to shift along the female part and permit the fingers to move outward to receive the male part, which snaps into the notches in the fingers.

United States Pte Inventors Eckard Hundhmmn;

Walter Kolb, both of Betzdorf, (Sieg). Germany Appl. No. 845,280 FiledJuly 28, 1969 Patented Aug. 24, 1971 Assignee Wolf-Gentle Gmbllllldfld'z 1.5 m n Priority Aug. 9, 1968 Austria PLUG-IN COUPLING FORGARDEN AND OTHER HOSES 7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

us. (:1 251/1494, 285/316, 285/319, 285/250 1m, 01 F161 31/20, F16137/26 Field ofSearcln 251/1491,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,904,061 4/1933 Larson 2511491 x 2,388,992 11/1945 Pape et a1. 285/250 2,727,759 12/1955 Elliott251/l49.6 X 2,750,209 6/1956 Robb 251/1496 3,039,794 6/1962 De Cenzo...285/316 X 3,334,860 8/1967 Bolton, .lr. 251/1491 Primary ExaminerWilliamR. Cline Attorney-Ostrolenk, Faber, Gerb & Soffen ABSTRACT: A hosecoupling with male and female parts; the male part having a doubleconical bead for being engaged by fingers on the female part; thefingers have notches formed of 'cooperatingly sloped surfaces whichreceive the bead; the extemal surfaces of the fingers are obliquelysloped; a sleeve surrounds the female part; it has a cooperatinglysloped surface engaging the outer surface of the fingers; as the hosecoupling parts are pressed together, the male part forces the fingersoutward and the cooperating outer surfaces of the fingers and the sleevesurfaces cause the sleeve to shift along the female part and permit thefingers to move outward to receive the male part, which snaps into thenotches in the fingers.

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/n yen furs AFC/M80 /u/vo/wwzn/ 5? 14/41 75/2 K015 PLUG-IN COUPLING FORGARDEN AND OTHER IIOSES Plug-in couplings for garden hoses have beenproposed'in which a sliding sleeve is arranged on the female part of thehose. The sleeve actuates a ball detent by moving it, against a spring,longitudinally into a position in which the ball detent is released inorder to be able to plug the two coupling halves together or to separatethem from each other. Apart from the fact that such couplings made ofmetal require extremely accurate machining and are therefore costly tomanufacture, their manipulation is complex. To plug such hoses together,while the two hose ends are being held in the two hands, it is alsonecessary to push back the sliding sleeve against the spring force. Thisrequires considerable concentration. For undoing the coupling, on theother hand, the sliding sleeve must be gripped with the fingers. Whilethe end of the hose connected with the male part of the coupling ispulled away, the sliding sleeve is slid back on the female part so thatthe detent is released and the two coupling parts can be separated.Since, however, the sliding sleeve is comparatively short, thismanipulation, that is to say the engagement of the sliding sleeve withthe fingers, is difficult.

One aim of the invention is to avoid these disadvantages of the knownconstruction. Another aim is to provide a plug-in coupling which issimpler to use and is so simple in its construction that its essentialparts can be made of synthetic resin.

The invention concerns a plug-in coupling for garden and other hoses. Onthe female part of the coupling, a coupling sleeve is provided whichbrings about a locking of the male part. The sleeve can be pushed backby hand against a resilient force characterized in that the lockingmeans are provided on the female part of the coupling.

Further details and advantages of the invention will be found in thefollowing description of a specific embodiment referring to the drawing.

FIG. 1 is an axial section of a plug-in coupling in accordance with theinvention with the two halves together;

FIG. 2 shows the same coupling with the coupling parts detached; 4

FIG. 3 shows the same coupling before the plugging together of the twocoupling halves;

FIG. 4 is a view on the line IV-IV of FIG. 3.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the female, right-hand part 3 of thecoupling is connected with the hose end 1 by means of a gripping partwhich is screwed into a female thread in the rest of the female part 3and has its conical inner surface arranged so as to clamp the hose onthe conically shaped spigot 3. As an additional securing means it ispossible to provide one or more annular or helical ribs 12 on the innersurface of the gripping part 2, or alternatively suitable projections orthe like, which press into the outer face of the hose. The direction ofwater flow is indicated by arrow A.

The female part 3 has towards its other end four holding fingers 4,which are spaced by 90 (FIG. 4) about the coupling axis and can moveresiliently in a radial direction. The female part 3 with the spigot 3and the holding fingers 4 are a single integrally moulded syntheticresin part. The outer head parts of the fingers 4 have a shape asdemanded by the manner of operation described below. It is also possibleto provide a greater number of holding fingers 4, for example eight,spaced evenly around the end of part 3.

On the female part 3 there is a sliding sleeve 5 which can slide in thelongitudinal direction and is pressed by helical compression spring 6 soas normally to be in the rest position shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. Sleeve 5has an inner shoulder 18, which rests against the radially outwardlyextending holding projections 4 of the fingers 4. The oblique face 5" ofthe sliding sleeve 5 rests against the corresponding oblique faces 19 ofthe fingers 4. Reference numeral 7 denotes a sealing ring.

The other hose end 8 is fixed by means of the screwed on gripping part 9against the double conical connecting spigot of the male part 10 which,in the plugged-in condition in accordance with FIG. I, has the inneroblique face of its double-conical bead resting against the inwardlyprojecting, ,outer oblique faces 21 of the notch as in holding fingers4. Male part 10 is nonshiftably held in place because the outer obliqueface 10 of the bead of male part 10 meets the inner oblique..faces 22 ofthe notches in fingers 4 and because the fingers 4 abut against theoblique face 5" of the sliding sleeve 5 which presents their movingoutward.

In order to undo the coupling, the hose end shown on the left in FIG. 2is grasped with one hand in order to draw it the direction of the arrowB, while the sliding sleeve 5 is grasped with the other hand in order topush it in the direction of.- the arrows C, so that it slides, as shownin FIG. 2, over the female part until its interior shoulder 5' abutsagainst the opposite shoulder 23 of the female part 3. In this positionthe oblique face 5" is clear of the resilient fingers 4 so that theycanbe moved outward. When male part 10 is now drawn to the left, obliquesurface 21 will shift fingers 4 outward until male part 10 is free.Consequently, the male part 10 can be removed with little effort. Thesliding sleeve 5 then returns to its rest position shown in FIGS. 1 and3. In order to prevent the slid} ing sleeve 5 being displacedunintentionally, for example when the garden hoe is drawn with thecoupling over a lawn, the male part 10 is provided with an annular beador collar 10' which protects the end of the sliding sleeve 5 fromunintentional displacement.

In order to couple the hose parts again, the two hose ends are taken inthe two hands, as shown in FIG. 3, and are pushed in the directions ofthe arrows D toward each other. The outer oblique face 10 of the annularbead of the male part 10 abuts against the end oblique faces 4" of thefingers 4 so that the latter are pressed outward. This pressure istransmitted by the outer oblique faces of the fingers 4 to the abuttingoblique face 5" of the sleeve 5 so that the latter is moved to the righta small distance out of its rest position. The fingers 4 can bedisplaced outwards owing to the pressing action of the oblique face 10"of the male part so that the male part 10 can pass back into itsposition shown in FIG. 1 again.

In order to provide for automatic stopping of the flow of wateroccurring when the hose coupling is undone, should the water tap not yetbe turned off, it is possible to provide, in accordance with theinvention, for a check valve in the spigot 3' of the female part 3. Thisvalve consists of a semispherical valve body 11 which on the one handside has a guide vane 11 and on the other hand side a push rod 11". Whenthe hose is coupled the end of the male part 10 presses through a web 13against the push rod 11" so that the valve is held in the open position.When the hose parts are uncoupled the valve body 11 is pressed by thewater pressure acting in the direction A against its valve seatingprovided in part 3, so that the flow of water is arrested.

All parts of the coupling, with the exception of the spring 6, can bemade of a suitable synthetic resin.

Preferably the arrangement is such that the sliding sleeve 5 cannot beturned although it can be moved longitudinally, by providinglongitudinal ribs or grooves on the interior surface of the slidingsleeve 5 so as to engage corresponding grooves or longitudinal ribs onthe female part 3. In the case of the embodiment shown, see FIG. 4,longitudinal grooves 50 are provided on the sliding sleeve 5 into whichthe fingers 4 fit so that the latter prevent any twisting of the slidingsleeve. This provides the advantage that the sliding sleeve 5 can beheld with one hand in order to screw in or unscrew the gripping part 2.

What we claim is:

I. A plug-in hose coupling comprising a male and a female part;

said male part being connectable with one section of a hose andcomprising a double conical bead having an inner sloping, oblique faceand an outer sloping, oblique face, with both said oblique faces meetingat their widest parts and sloping radially inward with respect to saidmale part away from the meeting point of the sloping faces;

said female part being connectable with another hose section andcomprising a plurality of resilient locking fingers,

which normally assume a position that biases said fingers radiallyinward with respect to said female part so as to lock said male part;

said fingers each including a notch having an outer oblique face, whichis sloped to mate with said inner face of said male part bead, andhaving an inner face, which is sloped to mate with said outer face ofsaid male part bead;

said fingers each further including an outer surface portion, which isobliquely sloped radially inward with respect to said female part in thedirection away from said male part;

a sleeve connected with and encircling said female part in the vicinityof the junction with said male part; said sleeve being lengthwisemovable along said female part; said sleeve having a cooperatinglysloped surface to mate with said finger outer surface portion;

a spring on said coupling connected to normally urge said sleeve to movetoward said male part and to move its said sloped surface intoengagement with said finger outer surface portions thereby to lock thefingers against being shifted radially outward;

whereby when said male and said female parts are to be coupled and saidbead of said male part is pushed against said female part fingers, saidbead outer face pushes said fingers radially outward and, due to thesloping cooperating surfaces on said fingers and said sleeve, pushessaid sleeve along said female part and away from said male part; therebypermitting the radially outward movement of said fingers to admit saidmale part, and thereafter said male part bead becomes engaged and lockedby said cooperating oblique surfaces of said fingers.

2. A plug-in coupling in accordance with claim 1, characterized in thatsaid fingers each have external holding projections against which saidsleeve is normally biased.

3. A plug-in coupling in accordance with claim 1, characterized in thatsaid female part includes a connecting spigot including a check valvehaving a push rod which is pressed back from the closed into the openposition by means of a web which is provided at the end of the male partand which operates on said valve when the coupling is done.

4. A plug-in coupling in accordance with claim 1, characterized in thatone of said sleeve and said female part is provided with internallongitudinal ribs and the other is provided with corresponding grooveswhich engage said ribs in order to prevent twisting of said sleeve.

5. A plug-in coupling in accordance with claim 4, characterized in thaton the sliding sleeve internal grooves are cut which each receive afinger.

6. A plug-in coupling in accordance with claim 1, wherein said sleeveextends over and encircles the portion of said male part that is nearsaid female part.

7. A plug-in coupling in accordance with claim 6, characterized in thaton the male part there is an annular bead or collar which protects theadjacent end face of the sliding sleeve against unintentional actuation.

1. A plug-in hose coupling comprising a male and a female part; saidmale part being connectable with one section of a hose and comprising adouble conical bead having an inner sloping, oblique face and an outersloping, oblique face, with both said oblique faces meeting at theirwidest parts and sloping radially inward with respect to said male partaway from the meeting point of the sloping faces; said female part beingconnectable with another hose section and comprising a plurality ofresilient locking fingers, which normally assume a position that biasessaid fingers radially inward with respect to said female part so as tolock said male part; said fingers each including a notch having an outeroblique face, which is sloped to mate with said inner face of said malepart bead, and having an inner face, which is sloped to mate with saidouter face of said male part bead; said fingers each further includingan outer surface portion, which is obliquely sloped radially inward withrespect to said female part in the direction away from said male part; asleeve connected with and encircling said female part in the vicinity ofthe junction with said male part; said sleeve being lengthwise movablealong said female part; said sleeve having a cooperatingly slopedsurface to mate with said finger outer surface portion; a spring on saidcoupling connected to normally urge said sleeve to move toward said malepart and to move its said sloped surface into engagement with saidfinger outer surface portions thereby to lock the fingers against beingshifted radially outward; whereby when said male and said female partsare to be coupled and said bead of said male part is pushed against saidfemale part fingers, said bead outer face pushes said fingers radiallyoutward and, due to the sloping cooperating surfaces on said fingers andsaid sleeve, pushes said sleeve along said female part and away fromsaid male part; thereby permitting the radially outward movement of saidfingers to admit said male part, and thereafter said male part beadbecomes engaged and locked by said cooperating oblique surfaces of saidfingers.
 2. A plug-in coupling in accordance with claim 1, characterizedin that said fingers each have external holding projections againstwhich said sleeve is normally biased.
 3. A plug-in coupling inaccordance with claim 1, characterized in that said female part includesa connecting spigot including a check valve having a push rod which ispressed back from the closed into the open position by means of a webwhich is provided at the end of the male part and which operates on saidvalve when the coupling is done.
 4. A plug-in coupling in accordancewith claim 1, characterized in that one of said sleeve and said femalepart is provided with internal longitudinal ribs and the other isprovided with corresponding grooves which engage said ribs in order toprevent twisting of said sleeve.
 5. A plug-in coupling in accordancewith claim 4, characterized in that on the sliding sleeve internalgrooves are cut which each receive a finger.
 6. A plug-in coupling inaccordance with claim 1, wherein said sleeve extends over and encirclesthe portion of said male part that is near said female part.
 7. Aplug-in coupling in accordance with claim 6, characterized in that onthe male part there is an annular bead or collar which protects theadjacent end face of the sliding sleeve against unintentional actuation.